New: Aryeh Siegel on TM (2025)

Aryeh Siegel, a former TM teacher and national TM executive, examines the scientific research TM uses to market itself: who funded it, who conducted it, and what it actually shows. An in-depth interview recorded for The Hive documentary project (2025).

On the In Search Of More podcast with Eli Nash, Aryeh Siegel explains what TM does not disclose about its mantras and initiation ceremony, and describes a secular, faith-compatible alternative: kosher meditation (2025).

Maharishi’s private conduct, in the words of the women involved. Theresa Olson, Ph.D., was ten years old when Maharishi moved into her family’s Los Angeles home in 1959; her mother, Helena Olson, became one of TM’s earliest American leaders. Here she describes how Maharishi directed her upbringing and how he approached her sexually when she was nineteen. Judith Bourque, author of Robes of Silk, Feet of Clay, also speaks. From Conversations in the Hive, Part 1, a Zoom session recorded April 20, 2023. Olson’s account begins at 6:42. Viewer note: this video contains frank descriptions of sexual conduct.

Berlin, 2007. Before you decide if the David Lynch Foundation is a Hindu-based cult, watch this shocking video. First, David Lynch and TM’s “Raja of Germany” are booed off a Berlin stage. Later that evening, undeterred, and joined by Lynch Foundation CEO, Bob Roth, all three participate in a strange and unnerving ritual to bring invincibility to Germany.

Two steps are necessary to evoke the relaxation response. The first step is to repeat a word, sound, prayer, phrase or movement. The second step is to disregard other thoughts when they come. Dr. Herbert Benson walks you through his simple relaxation technique, which has an identical physiological profile to TM.

In 2004, 60 Minutes Australia did a segment on TM and its leader, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Maharishi appears irritated and defensive throughout the interview, underscoring the question of what ultimately results from years of prolonged mantra meditation. Diane Hindel powerfully recounts her nervous breakdown and the trauma she experienced after becoming involved in TM. Before Maharishi's death, when this segment was aired, Hindel said she believed the guru only wanted people's money, and that he was an evil man who didn't believe his rhetoric. This is only one woman's story. However, she echoes many who say they have been brainwashed by TM and, at one time, its leader.  

TM’s “capital of world peace” in India. According to this 2018 video, $100 million had already been spent there, and the movement was raising $400 million more for a second phase. Projects like this are a world away from the simple stress-reduction technique TM presents to the public.

Rent or buy the film at bit.ly/320LgGC (with Bonus: Making of-Video). Watch the film on Amazon Prime: amzn.to/3bKZb8b.

David Lynch and his fellow Rajas of TM, led by the Maharaja.

Rent or buy the film at bit.ly/320LgGC (with Bonus: Making of-Video). Watch the film on Amazon Prime: amzn.to/3bKZb8b.

David Sieveking, a young filmmaker from Germany, travels to Fairfield, Iowa, to attend a workshop on the sources of creativity, conducted by his idol, David Lynch. The workshop takes place at the Maharishi University of Management and the focus, it turns out, is on Transcendental Meditation. Lynch, who has spearheaded and glorified TM in recent years, inspires Sieveking to start TM. Despite his initial intrigue, the filmmaker quickly becomes a TM skeptic. The substantial cost of the 'personal TM mantra,' necessary to begin practicing, is one of the first red flags. Sieveking turns his lifelong adoration for Lynch, and the dubious, dangerous history of TM into a documentary that anyone considering TM should watch. Sieveking was as earnest as they come; thankfully, he allowed his inquisitive nature to lead him to the truth about TM.

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In a nutshell, nobody needs to be 'assigned' a mantra to begin or enhance a meditation practice. Nor is there any reason a person's mantra should be kept a secret, as is mandatory in TM. However, focusing on a word of one's choosing can be a helpful tool in certain relaxation techniques. Of one's choosing. A word that is meaningful to the individual. That's the key. Dr. Michael Persinger at Laurentian University illuminates the science.

Rent or buy the film at bit.ly/320LgGC (with Bonus: Making of-Video). Watch the film on Amazon Prime: amzn.to/3bKZb8b.

Gina Catena, raised within the TM movement, speaks with Steven Hassan, an American mental health counselor and Director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, who has helped people exit destructive cults. Catena explains the potential adverse side effects of prolonged hours of mantra meditation, which, as she has witnessed, can include anxiety and disassociation. She also expresses concern about the teaching of TM to veterans suffering from PTSD, which she finds unethical. Catena's opinion on the reason behind TM's aggressive push to teach TM meditation to at-risk youth in inner cities is illuminating from a person who spent so many years on the inside. The bottom line? Meditation doesn't require involvement with a secretive organization and Catena is one of many who cites Herbert Benson's relaxation response as a positive alternative.